South Korea's Yoon meets Indonesian leader to deepen economic, defense ties

abcnews.go.com:

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has met with his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo, to deepen economic ties and defense cooperation amid heightened global geopolitical tensions

JAKARTA, Indonesia — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo, on Friday seeking to deepen economic ties and defense cooperation at a time of heightened global geopolitical tensions.

Yoon has been in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, since Tuesday attending the the three-day summit by leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations along with Asian and Western counterparts. That meeting spotlighted major conflicts in Asia, with calls for peaceful resolutions and restraint.

Widodo and his wife, Iriana, hosted Yoon and South Korean first lady Kim Keon Hee at a ceremony in the colonial-style Merdeka palace in Jakarta.

During their meeting, the two leaders agreed to deepen their strategic partnership in the security and defense industries and to expand cooperation in future-looking industries such as electric vehicles, batteries and smart cities.

Indonesia’s foreign affairs minister, Retno Marsudi, told reporters after the meeting that Widodo welcomed commitments made by South Korean company LG and its partners in Indonesia to “accelerate the realization of a grand investment package worth $9.8 billion for the construction of a cathode factory” on Indonesia’s Batam island, next to Singapore.

She added that factory construction is expected to start this year, involving Indonesia’s state-owned companies and regional businesses. Cathodes are key components in global battery production for electric vehicles.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, has imported a total of $4.3 billion in South